Aerial toy with jet operated turbine



A ril 28, 1970 E. J. WILLIAMS AERIAL TOY WITH JET OPERATED TURBINE Filed June 19, 1967 INVENTOR EDWARD Jv WILLIAMS ATTORP 1 United States Patent Oflice 3,508,360 Patented Apr. 28, 1970 3,508,360 AERIAL TOY WITH JET OPERATED TURBINE Edward J. Williams, 703 Dupre Drive, Spartanburg, SC. 29302 Filed June 19, 1967, Ser. No. 647,033 Int. Cl. A6311 27/12 US. Cl. 4675 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DESCLOSURE A rocket or jet propelled saucer-like flying toy which may be ignited and launched in the air from a hand-held member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention is concerned with that class of pyrotechnic device or toy which is propelled by small rocket engines built into the toy to provide the necessary spin and lift effect. The prior art contains broad teachings of such devices and examples are U.S. Patents 609,063 to Weiffenbach and 1,554,065 to Blair. The former utilizes tube motors which discharges jets downwardly and laterally to cause lifting and turning of the toy body, and the efficiency of this arrangement is very limited due to the necessity for using very small propellant charges in a hand-launched device. The latter patent employs small rocket motors to achieve rotation in combination with a lifting propeller structure. This arrangement is somewhat complex and also has a very limited range of flight.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention improves greatly upon the prior art by the provision of a disc or saucer-like body having built-in turbine blades to produce rapid rotation in conjunction with small relatively rotatable jet or rocket motors. The disc body also possesses annular deflector vanes which direct the gaseous jets received from the motors and turbine blades downwardly to produce an efficient and even lift around the entire circumference of the disc body. The rotation of the disc body assures an even distribution of jet gases around the full circumference and adds to the stability of the toy during flight, as well as the interesting simulated effect of a so-called flying saucer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a saucerlil e flying toy embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged central vertical section through the same;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the toy, partly in section and partly broken away, with the upper cap or dome omitted for clarity;

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view of the toy; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary elevational view, partly in section, of a launching handle and coacting socket in the toy disc body.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Refelring to the drawings, wherein like numerals designate like parts, the numeral designates the disc or saucer-like body of the flying toy in its entirety. It might be mentioned that the toy is well adapted to be molded from various plastics and this is the preferred construction, although other materials could be utilized. As shown, the disc body 10 is circular and includes a bottom wall 11 which is somewhat conically tapered in the upward direction. The wall 11 is preferably stiffened by a number of radial ribs 12 on the bottom thereof. The wall 11 and ribs 12 are joined integrally with a central hub 13 having a downwardly opening cylindrical socket or bore 14, for a purpose to be described. An upstanding cylindrical spindle or pin 15 is secured rigidly to the top of hub 13 and projects substantially above the top of the disc body 10. A rounded cap 16 or dome has a press-fit over the top of the spindle 15 and is therefore rigid therewith. The spherically formed dome 16 is for ornamental purposes and also retains the rocket motor structure, to be described, on the spindle 15. The dome 16 may be disconnected from the spindle 15 to allow replacing of the rocket motor structure when the rockets are spent.

The disc body 10 further comprises an upper wall 17 which is conically tapered upwardly somewhat more steeply than the bottom wall 11, and the upper wall has a wide central opening 18 at its top for the ready admission of air through the turbine blades. The tpp edge 19 of the disc body is perpendicular to the axis of spindle 15 and below the bottom of dome 16.

A plurality of curved turbine blades 20, preferably twelve in number, are circumferentially equidistantly spaced around the entire circumference of the disc body with their inner inclined edges 21 extending below and somewhat inwardly of the margin of opening 18. The outer ends 22 of the turbine blades terminate at the circular margin of the lower wall 11 and project upwardly therefrom and somewhat radially outwardly, substantially at right angles to the top wall 17. The blades 20 are molded integrally with the walls 11 and 17 to produce a unitary and rigid structure.

An important feature of the invention resides in the provision of a downwardly curved marginal annular deflector skirt 23 on the disc body 10 at the discharge ends of the turbine blades 20 and a coacting downwardly curved annular deflector vane 24, somewhat inwardly thereof, also in the path of the exhaust jet discharging through the turbine structure. The elements 23 and 24 which extend entirely around the circumference of the disc body direct the exhaust gases or jet from the rocket motor structure downwardly continuously around the entire circumference to produce a very eflicient and stable lift force on the rotating disc body. As shown most clearly in FIG- URE 2, the lower ends 0 fthe elements 23 and 24 direct the jet substantially vertically downwardly, although the angle of discharge may be varied at this point through a considerable range.

The rocket structure, above-mentioned, comprises a center hub 25 rotatable on spindle 15 and a pair of opposed radial downwardly inclined extensions 26 integral therewith and adapted to contain small rocket motors 27 whose discharge ends face directly into the turbine blades 20 of the disc body. The rocket motors 27 may vary in construction and may, for example, be of the general type described in U.S. Patent 609,063. This patent discloses the use of pyrotechnic powder as the propulsion fuel. The motors may also be of the type shown and described in the aforementioned Blair Patent 1,554,065. The rocket motor structure is freely rotatable relative to the disc body 10 by virtue of its connection with the spindle 15, the latter being rigid with the: disc body. The motor hub 25 is constrained from axial movement between the top of hub 13 and the bottom of dome 16. The rocket motors may be ignited in a conventional manner.

In FIGURE 5, there is illustrated an elongated handle 28 for launching the flying toy including a forward launching extension 29 which fits rotatably within the socket opening 14 of hub 13. The launching handle may be of any convenient length.

OPEMTION With the toy mounted as shown on the handle 28 and the rocket motors 27 activated or ignited, the exhaust jets from these two radially opposed motors will impinge on the turbine blades 20 at diametrically opposite sides of the body 10 and relative rotation will occur in one direction between the motor structure and the body 10. While the motor structure itself may tend to rotate on the spindle 15, the strong jets coming from the motors 27 and impinging on the blades 20 will soon cause the body to rotate and as this occurs, the jets are distributed evenly around the entire circumference of the body 10 and deflected downwardly by the elements 23 and 24 to produce an even upward thrust or lift on the entire toy during its rotation. This lift is uniform and continuous around the entire circumference of the body 10 and as the rocket motors continue to operate, the toy will ascend and rotate with a very interesting action simulating the conventional concept of a flying saucer or mystery space vehicle.

The device can be recovered when the rockets are spent and, if desired, the cap 16 can be removed and a replacement motor unit put on the spindle 15. The toy is simplified in construction and quite rugged and durable when formed of suitable plastics.

The toy or craft as described herein may employ a centrifugal fan of any blade design as long as the fan discharges all of the air downwardly atthe periphery of the toy or craft.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to.

What I claim is:

1. An aerial toy comprising a disc body having a hub for launching, a plurality'of turbine blades on the disc body to react with jets to impart rotation to the disc body, said turbine blades arranged in a group extending around the circumference of the disc body, an annular downturned deflector on the disc body outwardly of said blades to receive jet gases passing radially between the blades and directing said gases downwardly around the entire circumference of the disc body to impart lift thereto,

and a jet motor unit mounted on the disc body for rotation relative thereto on the axis of said hub.

2. The aerial toy according to claim 1, and an upstanding spindle on said hub projecting thereabove, said jet motor unit rotatably mounted on said spindle and including a hub receiving the spindle therethrough and a pair of radially opposing jet motors secured to the unit hub and having their discharge ends facing the inner extremities of the turbine blades, and a cap element on the spindle above the jet motor unit and retaining the hub of the unit on the spindle so that it will not shift appreciably thereon axially.

3. The aerial toy according to claim 1, and wherein the hub of the disc body has an axial bore, and a launching handle for the toy including a pin element engageable rotatably and freely within the body hub bore.

4. An aerial toy according to claim 1, and wherein said disc body includes spaced top and bottom walls, the top wall having a large central opening, said turbine blades anchored between the top and bottom walls and extending' outwardly of said large opening, and said jet motor unit being mounted within the large central opening and above the bottom wall and having a pair of motors adapted to discharge jets against the inner ends of the turbine blades.

5. An aerial toy according to claim 4, and wherein said turbine blades are circumferentially equidistantly spaced and curved in the same direction.

6. The structure of claim 1, and a second annular downturned deflector spaced inwardly of the deflector on said disc body and disposed substantially concentrically therewith.

7. An aerial toy according to claim 4, wherein said top and bottom walls are annular and conically tapered upwardly, and the motors of said pair are angled with respect to the rotational axis of the disc body so that their jets will be directed squarely onto the turbine blades.

8. A toy simulating a flying saucer comprising a disc body portion having an upper recess and a spindle Within said recess, a jet motor unit on said spindle including means for directing a jet radially outwardly from the spindle within the recess, circumferentially spaced turbine blades on the disc body portion immediately outwardly of the recess to receive the force of said jet for causing rotation of the disc body portion relative to the motor unit, and marginal annular deflector means on the disc body portion immediately outwardly of the turbine blades for directing downwardly the exhaust discharging radially from the turbine blades around the circumference of the disc body portion to impart lift thereto.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,938,298 5/ 1960 Apostolescu. 3,109,256 11/1963 Dean. 2,835,073 5/1958 Dame 4674 FOREIGN PATENTS 348,617 1905 France.

F. BARRY SHAY, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 10237.1, 37.5 

